The issue of costs and rising student debt have have touched off a national debate about the cost and value of a college education. Surveys by the Pew Research Center present this portrait of the views of the general public and college graduates on these issues.
Nearly six-in-ten adults have done research online about the products and services they buy, and about a quarter have posted comments or reviews online about the things they buy.
The American public’s sour mood is in interesting contrast with many of the public’s views during the Great Depression of the 1930s, not only on economic, political and social issues, but also on the role of government in addressing them.
Americans see the big picture when it comes to the changing balance of power in Washington, but is not sure which party controls which house of Congress or who the next speaker will be. Many have a good idea about the growth of the federal deficit, but the public struggles with questions about specifics of the budget, TARP and inflation.
A majority of Americans say the earth is warming, but far fewer than said so in 2006. The decline has come mostly from Republicans, and very few Tea Party supporters say there is solid evidence of global warming. Also, the public is divided on the question of whether scientists themselves agree that the earth is warming.
Technology experts and stakeholders say they expect internet users will ‘live mostly in the cloud’ in 2020 and not on the desktop, working through cyberspace-based applications accessed through networked devices.
Americans are famous both for being weight conscious, and at the same time unable to come to terms successfully with their bloated waistlines. The same paradox has applied to how the public looks at budget deficits for a very long time.
Most Americans who have turned to online sources for economic information have also used the internet to take their minds off of their financial troubles, especially younger online economic users.